Helena Chu (lostchu) wrote in thefield, @ 2009-03-26 18:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | helena, kenneth, z - 1st tribe - day 12 |
Faith And Advice
Who: Kenneth and Helena
Where: The edge of camp
When: As the last of the rays of sun fade
What: Having a chat.
Helena knelt down by the edge of the stream and dipped the hardened cup made from a climber leaf and sealed with resin into the burbling water. She knew Kenneth would likely be on her trail, on her six as he might say, and so she sat down on another of the large boulders that seemed to tumble the length of their stream. Sighing, she sipped at the water, trying to shed the cotton mouth she'd gotten while dealing with that meeting. Looking back toward the group she saw that it was slowly breaking up. Quinn was packing up the pocket knife he'd borrowed from Payne and the little bits of wood he'd been carving at. She saw Cross pour handfuls of sand over the glowing coals in the firepit. She sighed again and rubbed at her temples, smiling as the shadow of Kenneth seperated itself form the shadows of the nearby bushes. "Good to have you guys back," she told him.
Kenneth smiled and stepped up behind her. "Good to be back. Headache, sprite? I've got a method that can fix it up if you want." He set his pack down and sat on a boulder next to her. He looked over his shoulder. "There going to all go their own way if you don't haul them together," he observed quietly. For some, it wouldn't be a bad thing, but for the ones willing to work together? It was important that they have someone leading them that direction.
"A bit of one, yeah. I know what you mean." She chuckled wanely. "I'm pretty sure it's that though, pulling everyone together, that gave me the headache." She shifted on the boulder to give him cheek space and tilted a curious look at him. "What's your method?" She had to be impressed. Kenneth was likely half again her own age and yet he'd managed to keep up with Jasper on a run, well enough that she didn't lose him. That was saying something, since the girl seemed ready to blast off at first light for another eight days or so, she'd said.
He stood up and squatted down behind her. "Tip your head down a bit toward your chest." His thumbs found the knobs at the base of her skull and his fingers rested along her temples. "Acupressure. This'll hurt for about thirty seconds...but when I let go it'll feel amazing. You ready?"
Her long hair swung forward over her shoulders as she dipped her head down. She hadn't managed to locate the pesk nest that had absconded with her hair elastics while she was sleeping. Stupid critters. "Ready," she said, her voice still seemingly distracted as his very capable hands cupped her head.
Kenneth started the pressure slowly, but built it up until he could feel Helena tensing before he started counting slowly. When he reached thirty he let go gently then rubbed the back of her neck with his thumbs. "What you might want to try, is letting them divide into two factions, have each one pick a head, let them meet and figure out their pros and cons, then have each head present it to the group. Then have a vote." He ran a hand lightly over her hair in a sort of paternal gesture before sitting down again. "It's a sort of controlled democracy that allows everyone to feel like they're being heard."
Helena couldn't help but sigh in relief when he let the pressure go and all of the tension leaked out of her neck. "Thanks, for that." As he explained and settled down next to her again she thought about his suggestion. "That's a really good idea. I think that might work. It seems like almost everyone agrees that it makes sense to move around, at least some of the time." She shook her head. "I didn't account for Rowan's reluctance. I should have thought that through." She gave Kenneth another smile. "She's got to be nesting about now. Moving her is going to be hard." She also didn't know why her upbeat, chipper expectant friend had looked so utterly tragic. At the very least, she had expected a strong presence from Rowan during this conversation. "I'm kind of wondering if I might be inthe doghouse tonight," she chuckled wryly. "I'll have to tie myself to a branch to stay in the tree tonight."
Kenneth hadn't realized that Helena and Rowan were together like that, not that he gave any real outward sign of that. It didn't bother him and hey, if the two women could find comfort together, so be it. "My first wife and I fought about that once. I got transferred when she was about eight months along and she'd already done the nursery." Kenneth pulled a stalk of grass up and started shredding it. "Nah, not going to be easy, but I bet she'd rather have her baby somewhere she didn't have to worry about it falling out of trees."
He glanced over at her, "I think the other side of that river we found might be safe. At the very least we know that the island the grazers sleep on at night is. It might be a tad crowded, but we're a small group and the animals themselves are calm and friendly. Very least we'd have a supply of milk, fish from the river, that grain stuff all around, fresh water. And we could build shelters on the ground to keep the weather off. It's a day long hike from the river to here, I bet we can train one of those animals for riding, it would only be two hours. That wouldn't be too bad to get people here and back to check for new arrivals." Kenneth smiled, "I know people aren't sure, but that might be a safer place for us to debate since the food here is starting to get a bit slim."
There was another pause as he looked at Helena, "You suggest it, Sprite and they'll follow you."
Helena sighed and nodded. "That does sound better, I agree. A lot better." She turned a curious look on Kenneth. "You have kids, Ken?" She had heard around the campfire that he'd been married numerous time. If he'd had babies with his first wife, maybe they were safe at home with her. Not alone in the world like Arlo made it sound like his daughter was. That was comforting. She didn't realize that he had misinterpreted her relationship with Rowan but even if she had, it wouldn't be too far off the mark. She loved Rowan like family and cared about her coming child like it was her own. She viewed Rowan as having saved her from inevitable madness alone on this planet. She gave him a wry smile. "I'm not so sure if they will. But I think we should attempt to make some building tools and maybe go out to that lake island and build a little shelter. Maybe fence off a small corner of the island to keep the animals from trampling us." She shrugged her thin shoulders. "At the very least, even if we don't settle there permanantly, it is a secure outpost."
At the mention of kids, his expression went a little distant and he shook his head. "Had kids," he finally admitted quietly, "A long time ago." Despite the fact that it has been nearly fourteen years, Kenneth could recall with perfect clarity the last memories he had of his daughter. Kenneth cleared his throat and nodded, "It's a good plan. You just need to convince a few people. Talk one on one with them. Gwen, I mean Angelica, the Padre, Rowan, grum...Cross, that waif of a girl that thinks herself a hunter. You get them to agree and the rest'll follow." Even though he'd spent the last few nights away, it was easy to see the group dynamics as they'd sat at the meeting. "Scout'll be able to use that as a good base at any rate. I'd say Arlo but he's not going to agree with anything, so it's a waste of time to work on him."
Helena listened and when he said he'd had kids she looked at him a little more directly. "Yeah, me too. Not so long ago." Unconsciously she stroked her empty ring finger with the thumb of her opposite hand. Since arriving here the lingering line left on her skin from her wedding ring was long gone. The sun had obscured it and now her married life and their attempts at being a family were far away and yet always at the back of her mind. She chuckled as she processed all of the nicknames. "Is it easier than remembering people's actual names? All of the nicknames?" Speaking to people one on one could be managed. "I don't like the idea of us seperating, but it looks like I'm not going to be able to keep everyone in one place for long."
"It's easier for me, yeah. Call them what they remind me of and I don't forget their names so easily. Most people are flattered by nicknames, makes them feel special." Kenneth noticed the way her thumb ran over her finger and he knew that Helena had been married at one point. Not like he was one to judge that. "There's always going to be people that can't stay in one place. Don't think we'll ever get Scout to settle down. Girl's got a powerful need to be moving, but she'll come back. The others?" Kenneth shrugged one shoulder, "I'll be honest with you, some of 'em we'll be better off they go their own way."
"Mm," Helena nodded in agreement. "I think Arlo's going to strike out soon. He's just getting angrier and angrier here. It's incredibly obvious that he isn't keen on people to begin with." She shook her head, thinking about the growly Texan. "I don't even think there's anything I can give him to help him out. And you know," she turned to look at Kenneth again. "I doubt he'd even send help back for us if he found any?" She chuckled and shook her head again, continually flabberghasted by Arlo's acidity.
Kenneth didn't even bother hiding that he was amused she'd immediately assumed he was talking about Arlo. She was right of course. "Not everyone's good at playing with teams," he observed, "and you never know. He might. Probably won't." Hell, Kenneth wasn't entirely sure anyone would even believe the man, he wasn't exactly high on charm to convince people.
The shadows grew longer and Kenneth looked at Helena. "Starting to get dark. I'm going to check the perimeter. Make sure everyone's up where they should be." He stood up and offered her a hand up. "You do fine as a leader. You care about everyone and people know that. Don't be afraid to use that trust to do what's best."
Accepting his hand to stand, she nodded. "Yes, that's a good idea. We need to get that meat off the ground or else we're going to lose it." She was pretty sure that smoking wouldn't deter the laughers from either stealing or fouling their food. "Thanks for the faith, Kenneth." She chuckled. "I keep hoping that a genuine politician will show up here and take the job off of my hands." She shrugged again as she swept her hair back over her shoulders and turned toward the tree. "I guess we're just going to have to make due with what's here though."
He knocked on the nearest tree. "God save us from the politcians. I'll take you any day." Kenneth scooped up his pack and headed into the shadows. Time to patrol and think on what he'd learned so far.